Tide
by Lina Trinch
Summary: Long ago, I made a promise to One. A promise I never kept. Then, when time seemed to stop, I had never regretted anything more in my life. Severe violence and some language. Oneshot. Holix.


**We need more Holix in our daily diet. SO, I decided to join a few of my fave things as far as the HOLIX category goes.**

**Guilt. Angst. One. Nightmares. Six. Six. Six. Holiday. Fluff. No shades allowed.**

**But really, this is probably going to be a mix of a few of my other fics, but we can still enjoy this.**

**HOLIX, HO!**

**Also, I know it seems pretty sketchy at first, but it's a sorta kinda flashback thing, then we hit the story. It actually starts when Six wakes up, but only the italics are the dream... and some of the italics are a flashback... YOU'LL GET IT, just read. (I know, I'm a literature genius. Oh, pshya lol)**

**Oh and, WARNING, it gets pretty graphic. No lemons, just the violence and gore and... well, yeah. VIOLENCE. Actually, this should probably be rated M because of that, but all of you would be like LEMON and won't read... Yes! I know how your minds work!**

**And ALL OF THE ITALICS ARE ON PURPOSE.**

**o0o**

_"Now, Six. I need you to promise me something."_

_"What's that?"_

_"Always protect the people you care for."_

o0o

The Bug Jar sheild went down.

No one knew why. It didn't really matter anymore.

No Face was loose and ranking more and more rapid Evos to his already unbeatable heard.

I protested. I argued. It isn't my style and even White looked at me strange, but I didn't care. They couldn't go.

The orders were to send all of Providence's best out there to stop and kill the Evos, including No Face. It was stupid. Sure, we might kill some, but we were going to die.

Or, we came close, which is plenty close enough for me.

Holiday was a scientist. She didn't belong in the field, even though she was one of the best sharp shooters we had.

I expected Rex to be called, but I still didn't like it. He was the world's last hope. If something happened to him...

But orders are orders and we were _all_ shipped out to the fight.

We came so close...

The Evos were difficult, but do-able. We also had an army, but we had the advantage of our firepower, smarts, and Rex.

A lot of men still died, though.

By the time No Face was left, it was only the three of us around.

I had never been so scared. I was terrified.

Holiday went down first, only being pushed back and away from the thing. Then, I jumped in, also being pushed away. Then, Rex.

The kid stood his ground longer than I did, I'll give him that, but he still went down quick. He was on the ground, rattled, trying to blink back into conciousness.

I only looked up in time to see No Face standing over him, about to finish him, and to hear a loud, "NO."

A blur of black and white tried to jump him, but it was easy for the Evo to grab Holiday by the neck, without moving from his spot by Rex.

My katana flashed beside his head, causing him to drop her. Like a ragdoll. She wasn't moving. Her head wound still bled, her eyes stayed closed, and she wasn't moving.

Rex took the initiative, coming back to himself, and moving out from under No Face's shadow. He tried to attack, but didn't get far. It just picked him up and threw him to the side, beside her.

He wasn't moving either.

They were about to die.

It may have been illogical, but I made a promise... But promise or not...

I finally understood what he was talking about all those years ago.

Before that _thing_ made a move towards them, I attacked. I was holding my ground, but I was getting nowhere. He knew he had won... He was playing with me... He was enjoying this...

His claws wrapped around my neck and my back was slammed against the ground.

His screech of a voice... I could hear it in my head. "_I'll kill the female first_," it hissed, leaning closer to me, "_Only to make you watch_."

I never really considered that this was the first time I had heard him speak. The pain that was going through my spine and stomach was ignored.

But something suddenly did occur to me...

I didn't have time for this shit.

I kicked it off of me, wrapping one of it's four arms around the Evo's back and snapping it like a stick. It roared, obviously. He tried to turn, but I was too fast. My sharp eyes instantly found a soft spot, between the neck and the shoulder, and my claws instantly dug in. It howled again, but this time, he had managed to kick me off.

I stood back, waiting for his next move, a growl escaping through my newly sharpened teeth.

He rushed me and we tangled for a while. I was winning, but I was being stupid. I wasn't wrapping it up. All I knew was that this thing had threatened my family and I wanted it to hurt.

That part was going good, but I was taking too long. In the back of my mind, I knew I'd slip up soon.

And I did. I faltered, for maybe a second, and he grabbed my arm and slammed me against a concrete slab. My skull shattered. My spine snapped. Things got dim real quick.

I can't die now.

I know I've opened my eye, but I can't see.

They'll be killed if I die now. Both of them.

I can't die now.

I promised.

I can't.

o0o

_"Why are you worried?"_

_"Because I care about you."_

_"But don't you trust me?"_

_"Of course, I trust you."_

_"Then, why worry?"_

o0o

_My vision had returned, but my motor skills didn't. My arm could barely move, but that was all._

_No Face, even without eyes, looked down at me, knowing that I was going to die soon... and I knew it, too._

_But he turned away, deciding to spare me for the moment, and started walking towards them._

_Apparently, his threat was no bluff._

_I never thought I would think this. Never thought I'd pray for it, but I did. His shadow washed over her and my lips parted, letting out a noise through my crushed throat. "Puh... Plea..."_

_Please be dead. Please be dead. Please be dead._

_He kicked her ribs, hard, earning a grunt and a wrinkled face as she took a quick intake of air._

_Slowly, her eyes, green, lethal, sharp, cracked open to look up at him._

_I've never been so scared._

_My arm slowly moved towards them. They were a few feet away, but somehow, I thought that, maybe, I can still help._

_She tried to get up, but she was hurt and he was still fast. His claws quickly found her neck again, as he easily picked her up._

_I was reaching for them now. It took all my strength just to pick my arm up from the ground. I was reaching for her._

_Her slender hands wrapped around his fingers, trying to pry him loose. His grip, however, wasn't around her neck anymore. It was around the lower part of her face, from her jaw to her ears, still leaving room for her mouth and nose between his thumb and forefinger._

_She struggled._

_He didn't care. He didn't even give her any notice. To him, this was fun. _

_He started squeezing._

_She started screaming._

_Piercing scream. It shattered everything else._

"Stop."

_It. Won't. Stop._

_She will not stop screaming._

_Why doesn't he just fucking kill her?_

_Why does he have to draw it out like this?_

"No. Stop."

_I can't reach her. I can hardly breathe._

_Her knuckles have turned white._

_Her eyes are clenched closed. Tears streaming down her cheeks._

_That scream._

"S-Stop it. Stop."

_Her eyes jerk open._

_There's a loud crunch. The screaming comes to a silencing halt._

_Her fist clenches one more time and then falls to her side._

_I can't look away._

_One of her eyes is looking up, the other at him. His fist is wound so tight, it's as if he's clenching air._

_Blood. It's pouring between his fingers._

_I'm breathing too fast. My lungs are pumping too fast. My heart is beating too fast._

".. huu.. Ha..."

_He finally lets go and she falls from his grip, hitting the ground with a thud._

_She's... a bloody pulp now... of bone and..._

_I still can't reach her._

"H-Holi... I..."

_I dig my claws into the earth, trying to crawl closer to her, but I can't._

"I-I... ah..."

_Nothing._

_I half expect this to turn into some horrible movie. _

_I half expect her to suddenly dart her eyes to me. _

_Reach for me._

_Tell me it's ok._

_Tell me she knows._

_But, nothing._

_Her eyes stay locked on the sky above._

o0o

My eyes jerk open, sharp gasps of cold air stabbing at my lungs and the darkness hitting my eyes.

They quickly adjust and I blink to be sure. I'm in my room. I'm in Providence. And I'm shaking.

Carefully and slowly, I pry my ghost, white hand from the sheet I was clenching... trying to reach for her... Just as slowly, I sit up. Carefully, I let out a breath through clenched teeth, trying not to throw up this time.

It seems I'm successful, but I still have the same problem I always do... Which parts were real?

After kicking the sheets off, I move to the bathroom, turning on the faucet and quickly washing my face, trying to think back without going into dangerous territory.

And slowly, it comes back.

The Bug Jar did collapse and we did fight No Face... I did go Evo...

Jerking my arm, I examine my hand, only to find no claws.

That's right.

During our fight, he knocked me out... and Rex woke up.

That's right.

He's told me. At least a hundred times, he's told me what happened.

No Face was about to kill me and had no idea that Rex was up, so he took the initiative... and stabbed his mech sword through it's back, coming out the other side. Needless to say, it had caught the Evo's attention, but Rex, actually thinking quickly in a situation like that, drew back the sword and took off it's head.

He did my job. He saved us. And no matter what we tell him, he still feels guilt for taking a life.

It'll get easier. He already knows it was necessary and we've talked about it another hundred times. I know he'll be ok and I thought the same for myself.

Rex had cured me, but something's still wrong. I had that dream when that monster knocked me out and it just will not go away. It never goes away.

I feel like I haven't slept in weeks.

It feels like that it was years ago.

It was five days ago.

Holiday... She knows that something's wrong and she kept pestering me until I asked her to stop...

Her words ran through my head and I know they had to have hurt her when she said it... but it stung me, too.

"_If you won't let me in, Six, then... please... _please_, let _someone_ in. Please._"

She is the only one that I'll ever let in... and the fact that she doesn't believe in that, is...

With a jerk, I cut off the water, watching it drain out of the sink.

I'll do anything to make these damn dreams stop. Stop hearing that scream. Stop seeing her suffer.

I click off the light and leave the bathroom, wondering back into my own room. A little wobbly, I move to sit on the end of my bed, hands tucked under my chin.

What do I do? What am I supposed to do?

I've told her a million times. "I'm sorry." Over a million, I've said it to her. It was what I was trying to say back there, to her dead body, and God knows it's the truth.

So, why am I still seeing that?

I bury my face in my hands, wiping away the beads of sweat that were still there. Looking through my fingers, my eyes dart around the small room, landing on the katana on the stand.

Slowly, making sure I had a good footing first, I stand and walk over to it. Carefully, _very carefully_, I pick it up. It doesn't need to be handled with so much care, but it's one of my few cherished things.

It was a gift... from One.

"What do I do?," I ask it, as if the man himself would answer me.

The hilt is wrapped with a dark green cord, with a gold and black, yin and yang symbol towards the lower part. With a click, it snaps out of it's sheath. There are designs on the blade itself, very intricate designs. They always reminded me of the ocean. Of all the waves and the creatures.

One gave it to me for protection. My first blade.

I rub my thumb across the designs, feeling the grooves, like the waves were lapping against my feet again.

I can remember it very clearly. My promise I had made.

o0o

_I heard the others talk about this 'tide' and I was curious. I never really thought to ask. Why not see it for myself?_

_So I did._

_I was about thirteen and I didn't even know what the tide was. Living on an island, one would think that'd be a common fact. But it was so common, it seemed to be... overlooked._

_My guess was right, though. The tide meant that, at night, the water came in further._

_The only light was the bright full moon glistening off the water._

_It weaved between my legs, getting higher and higher with every wave._

_I heard his steps before he spoke._

_"What are you doing out here?"_

_I turned, seeing my sensei, One, behind me, looking a little angry, but mostly curious, his arms propped up on his hips._

_"I wanted to see what the tide was," I answerd._

_"Well, now you know," he said back, "Now, get back on dry land."_

_Usually, I never question his commands, because they always seem to make sense. In this case, I only raised an eyebrow, unmoving. "Why?"_

_Both of his eyebrows shot up. "Why?," he repeated, then answered, "Because the tide might wash you out."_

_My shoulders slumped. "I'm fine, One."_

_"You don't know that for sure."_

_Another one of my eyebrows went up. "Are you alright?"_

_"I'm just worried about you, Six," he said, looking a little tired, "Can't a man worry?"_

_"Why are you worried?," I asked him. I can remember thinking that, surely, a mermaid wasn't about to put a sack on my head and drag me to their lair... but I wasn't about to make that comment._

_"Because I care about you," he answered._

_I knew that already. "But don't you trust me?"_

_"Of course, I trust you." His hands were on his hips again._

_"Then, why worry?," I asked, looking out at the ocean._

_I heard his sigh behind me. "Because, Six," he explained, as if I were five years old, "If something happened to you... I don't know what I'd do. So, I'm just going to avoid that scenario."_

_I smiled, keeping my back turned, so he didn't see. "I think we're doing a pretty good job so far."_

_He sighed again... but suddenly... he was quiet..._

_I turned to him, just to see him looking back at me, with far away eyes. "Master?"_

_His eyes moved back to mine. "Now, Six. I need you to promise me something." His voice was dead serious now._

_I turned fully to face him. "What's that?," I asked in a low whisper._

_He stayed silent for a minute, as if he were deciding on what to say. Then, in a soft voice, he told me. "Always protect the people you care for," he said, slowly walking towards me. He bent down, the water getting his knees wet, and he put a hand on my head, ruffling the hair a little, "And never waste a second with them."_

o0o

The lab and Petting Zoo are both dark by the time I get there. The Evos are sleeping and the personnel are off duty.

But Holiday never took off.

She wasn't on the ground floor, but I could easily make out her silhouette on the balcony, arms folded, overlooking the Zoo.

She has no idea I'm here.

Over my shoulder, I take a quick glance at the door, then another glance at her.

... Like there's really a question there.

As always, I stay quiet, quickly moving up to the balcony. Now, I'm behind her and she still doesn't know I'm there.

I can barely make out her reflection against the glass... She looks worried.

I would blame it on Rex, but I know it's me. She knows that something is wrong with me and I just keep moving further away from her, only making sparks.

We've been fighting a lot.

... But I can't help it. I'd rather see her angry, than...

I thought that, if I didn't tell her, then I would forget and it would go away, but that's not the case. I was... a little scared to tell her, but I still could have. I just... I didn't know what to tell her.

What the hell was I supposed to tell her? You died while I just sat back and watched?

Or... I'm sorry I couldn't save you? Or maybe, please, never scare me like that ever again?

Or that I'm glad she's alright?

...

Or maybe... that I'm an idiot... That my dream was _so close_ to being reality... That there were a few seconds that I knew they were going to die and, during those seconds, I had never hated myself more than in that moment.

That the hatred never died since then.

That I'm sorry and that I didn't deserve her forgivness.

That I...

"Holiday," I say, in a low voice, trying not to startle her.

She looks up, but she doesn't jump. Just looks through the glass and at the barely visible reflection of me, jogging pants, t-shirt, and all.

After a brittle second, she whispers, "Hey."

Another breath passes. "Hey," I answer.

Her eyes drop down, back to the ground.

My hand clenches the railing behind me, trying to keep me stable. "No Face. He... He killed you."

I look back to her reflection. Her eyes are back on me again, questioning, but she stays quiet.

"I couldn't do anything," I tell her, clenching the railing a little harder, "It was just a game to him. So, he..." I quickly close my mouth before I go on a ramble.

Her shoulders relax, but I can't look at that reflection. I already know that her eyes are full of pity, I don't need to see it, too.

Before she has the chance to say anything, I keep going. "A long time ago... I've told you this," I allow myself to look at her reflection, looking back at me, "I made a promise to One."

I have told her. There's been a few close calls and I may have mentioned it... a few times. This wasn't the first time I was scared.

This was just the worst.

She speaks again. "That you'd...," her eyes drop again, "That you'd protect us." I could tell. She wants to keep going. She wants to tell me something else, but...

This is the first time I've ever seen her not know what to say. Everything is already out. There is nothing left to say.

Or, well, there is... what I've been trying to say.

"That wasn't... all of it," I tell her, feeling those reflective eyes on me again. For now, I'm content to stare at her shoulders. "I've always believed that I can only do one and not the other, but I was wrong. That wasn't what he was trying to tell me and I can see it plainly now."

She's curious. I can tell.

I let my grip loosen on the railing and I slowly move closer to her. My hands find her elbows and they make a steady crawl down her arms and across her torso, me slowly moving closer, until my lips are against her ear.

I cannot believe she hasn't run away yet, or something.

Whispering now, I just tell her. "I promised to protect the people I care about... and to... never waste a minute with them. To always make sure they know that I care."

I shyly move a little closer, until my chest is against her back, while I breathe her in. "Years... Years I've wasted... With both of you." Lightly, I squeeze her hand, careful not to break her. "In the dream. When you were dead. I reached out for you... I tried to tell you something. I thought it was... that I was sorry, but... that wasn't it."

My eyes glide up to the glass to look at her reflection... _our_ reflection. She can see my eyes and I can see hers. She looks... surprised? A little happy. Mostly just... content... She looks alive to me and who can ask for more?

I don't break the gaze. I want her to know I mean it. Want to know I care. I just need her to know. "What I was trying to say was... that...," I lower my voice a little more, so that I'm only breathing in her ear. What I have to say is for her alone. No one else.

My lips brush against her skin.

A tear slides out of that beautiful, green orb and trails down to her smile.

Quickly, I kiss it away and hold her tighter.

**o0o**

**A few notes. **

**First off is the last bit. He said, and what he was trying to say when he was reaching for her was that, "I love you." At first, I had him say it and everything was all cute, but it didn't... I don't know. Something was up with it. This way it sounds more... believable, to me. Just a little bit more heart tugging lol.**

**Another thing was the katana Six got as a gift from One. Can anyone remember that blade? It was Six's sword in the original comic books, 'M. Rex', which is the comics that the show is based off of. Hence 'his first blade'. XD Oh, I'm clever.**

**This is a little like my fic, 'Blur', and a little of my others. But 'Blur' focused on the fact that Six was realizing that he did care about her and that he needed her. In this one, Six is well aware of that fact, but he was faced with the reality that she and Rex were both going to die without knowing how much they meant to him.**

**Originally, this was going to be a chapter fic, with a lot more Rex, but I cut it down. I wanted to do another great oneshot like this, to get me in the mood for my final essay, which actually worked, and this was a great idea to do.**

**Never fear, I have a billion more. And, of course, there's always the summer. Maybe I can finally finish 'Breakeven'.**

**Alright, good luck and good night.**

**Read & Review**

**~Lina Trinch**


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